QAKA: A novel quantum authentication and key agreement (QAKA) protocol using quantum entanglement for secure communication among IoT devices

Abstract The constant evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept involves the idea that all elements in the global network communication are reachable without the need for human intervention. In this context, the paramount concern is security, aiming to safeguard IoT communication against unauthorized access. According to the analysis, the security of the IoT communication framework relies on traditional cryptographic schemes like the RSA algorithm. Nevertheless, the latest developments in quantum computing and information processing pose a significant threat to these established schemes. Motivated by this fact, in this article, we proposed a novel quantum authentication and key agreement (QAKA) protocol that provides unconditional security against any classical and futuristic quantum threats. Our protocol ensures secure key agreement and mutual authentication based on quantum hashing with quantum passwords and quantum key distribution. The proposed scheme utilizes quantum teleportation and Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger states for secure data transfer among entities. Our work is simulated using the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications tool to prove our protocol's formal correctness and security. The Burrows, Abadi, and Needham logic is applied to prove the goal of our protocol. Random oracle model for formal security analysis is presented in our work. Our protocol is also informally analyzed, considering the characteristics such as correctness, security against repudiation and the impossibility of cloning. The proposed protocol is compared with the related protocols in terms of various security features such as replay attacks, man‐in‐middle attacks and futuristic quantum attacks. Finally, the performance of the proposed protocol is presented, revealing superior efficacy when compared with classical authentication schemes and quantum protocols.